Having echoed to the happy shrieks of children for years, the Monks Cross pool and fitness centre’s last day of action will be Sunday, November 30, City of York Council has announced.
Although a replacement pool will include facilities for younger children, it will not boast the same chutes and slides that made Waterworld such a hit with older kids and teenagers.
The announcement shortens the life of the facility even further.
When the council’s Cabinet agreed to close the facility in September, ahead of the construction of a York Community Stadium with new swimming pools, it was earmarked to go “just prior to Christmas 2014”.
“Due to declining visitor numbers and the ongoing threat of costly emergency repairs, the forecasted losses for the pool and gym are increasing, which make it no longer viable,” City of York Council said today. So the closure date has been brought forward.
The council said contracted staff “have been kept fully informed of the closure date” and will continue to be paid until the end of December.
“York Waterworld and Fitness Centre customers will be offered membership at both Energise and Yearsley Pool to continue their sport and leisure activities, while we prepare to build a fantastic new facility,” said Sally Burns, the council’s director for communities and neighbourhoods.
Future facilities
Under current plans, the York Community Stadium and leisure centre will open in July/ August 2016.
It will include a 25-metre, six-lane swimming pool. There will also be a separate teaching pool and fun pool “with exciting water features for children”, Sally Burns said.
The pools will not have the chutes and slides that were such a popular feature of Waterworld.
There will be “jumps, sprinklers and other water play features for younger children”, a council spokesperson said.
“Older ones and teens are catered for with the complex’s climbing and high ropes offering.”
The complex will also include:
“The plans for the new stadium, leisure centre and community hub, are truly ground breaking and represent a scheme that is sure to become a flagship project regionally and nationally,” said Chris Symons, director of development for GLL, which runs Waterworld and will create the new stadium and leisure complex.